High visibility mask having self-contained filtration system

Abstract

A protective covering includes an adjustable frame having a headband portion, a face-perimeter portion, and a visor. The covering includes a substantially translucent shield and an air handling unit disposed on the visor. The air handling unit includes a fan and an intake filter disposed in fluidic communication with the fan. A power source is operatively coupled to the fan, and the fan is configured to move ambient air from an external environment, through the intake filter, and into a substantially contained internal environment. A relief filter is at least partially disposed in the substantially translucent shield.

1 . A protective covering comprising:
 an adjustable frame configured to be worn on the head of a person, the adjustable frame comprising:
 a headband portion; 
 a face-perimeter portion connected to the headband portion; and 
 a visor connected to at least one of the headband portion and the face-perimeter portion; 
   a substantially translucent shield comprising a shield edge connected to at least one of the headband portion, the face-perimeter portion, and the visor portion, wherein when the protective covering is secured to a head of a wearer, the headband portion, the face-perimeter portion, the visor, and the substantially translucent visor at least partially define, with the head of the wearer, a substantially contained internal environment;   an air handling unit disposed on the visor, the air handling unit comprising:
 a fan; 
 an intake filter disposed in fluidic communication with the fan; and 
 a power source operatively coupled to the fan, wherein the fan is configured to move ambient air from an external environment, through the intake filter, and into the substantially contained internal environment; and 
   a relief filter at least partially disposed in the substantially translucent shield.   
     
     
         2 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , further comprising an ear cover secured to the adjustable frame. 
     
     
         3 . The protective covering of  claim 2 , wherein the ear cover comprises at least one of a sound channeller, an ear cover filter, and an ear seal. 
     
     
         4 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustable frame comprises at least one of a flexible material, a stretchable material, a hook and loop fastener, a closure, a buckle, a hook, and a belt. 
     
     
         5 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially translucent shield comprises a first portion and a removable second portion. 
     
     
         6 . The protective covering of  claim 5 , wherein the first portion is disposed proximate the visor and wherein the removable second portion is disposed distal from the visor. 
     
     
         7 . The protective covering of  claim 5 , wherein the removable second portion is removably secured to at least one of the first portion and the face-perimeter portion. 
     
     
         8 . The protective covering of  claim 5 , wherein the relief filter is at least partially disposed in the removable second portion. 
     
     
         9 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the air handling unit is removable from the visor. 
     
     
         10 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the fan comprises a turbine fan. 
     
     
         11 . The protective covering of  claim 10 , wherein the turbine fan draws the ambient air through the filter. 
     
     
         12 . The protective covering of  claim 10 , wherein the turbine fan pushes the ambient air through the filter. 
     
     
         13 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises at least one of a battery and a solar panel. 
     
     
         14 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch operatively coupled to the power source and the fan. 
     
     
         15 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor comprising at least one of an external environment sensor and a substantially contained internal environment sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The protective covering of  claim 15 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an airflow sensor, and a light sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially translucent shield comprises a photochromatic material. 
     
     
         18 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , further comprising a diffuser in fluidic communication with and downstream of the pressurizer. 
     
     
         19 . The protective covering of  claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises a battery. 
     
     
         20 . The protective covering of  claim 19 , further comprising a solar panel coupled to the battery for charging the battery. 
     
     
         21 . A mask comprising:
 a perimeter seal configured to substantially contact a face of a wearer;   a shield comprising a plurality of edges, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of edges are connected to the perimeter seal;   an adjustable headband at last partially connected to the perimeter seal;   a visor extending from the headband, wherein an upper edge of the plurality of edges is connected to the visor; and   an air handling system disposed on the visor, the air handling system comprising:
 a housing, wherein the housing at least partially defines an air intake and an air diffuser, wherein the air intake and the air diffuser define an airflow path; 
 a fan disposed in the housing and in the airflow path and arranged to draw air into the air intake and to force air out of the air diffuser; 
 an intake filter disposed within the airflow path; and 
 a power source configured to provide power to the fan. 
   
     
     
         22 . The mask of  claim 21 , further comprising a relief filter. 
     
     
         23 . The mask of  claim 22 , wherein the relief filer is disposed on the shield. 
     
     
         24 . The mask of  claim 22 , wherein the relief filter is disposed in the perimeter seal. 
     
     
         25 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the air diffuser is disposed proximate an underside of the visor. 
     
     
         26 . The mask of  claim 25 , wherein the diffuser comprises a distributed plurality of perforations. 
     
     
         27 . The mask of  claim 26 , wherein the distributed plurality of perforations are disposed on an underside of the housing. 
     
     
         28 . The mask of  claim 27 , wherein the distributed plurality of perforations are disposed over about 50% of the underside of the housing. 
     
     
         29 . The mask of  claim 27 , wherein the distributed plurality of perforations are disposed over about 75% of the underside of the housing. 
     
     
         30 . The mask of  claim 27 , wherein the distributed plurality of perforations are disposed over about 85% of the underside of the housing. 
     
     
         31 . The mask of  claim 27 , wherein the distributed plurality of perforations are disposed over about 95% of the underside of the housing. 
     
     
         32 . The mask of  claim 21 , herein the air diffuser comprises a plurality of vanes, wherein the plurality of vanes are configured to direct an airflow generated by the fan towards the shield. 
     
     
         33 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the power source comprises a battery disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         34 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the power source comprises a solar panel disposed on an exterior of the housing and a battery configured to be charged by the solar panel. 
     
     
         35 . The mask of  claim 33 , further comprising a port communicatively coupled to the battery, wherein the port is configured to receive an end of a charging cable. 
     
     
         36 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the intake filter is disposed upstream of the fan. 
     
     
         37 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the air intake is disposed about at least a portion of a perimeter of the housing. 
     
     
         38 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the power source comprises at least a solar panel disposed on an upper part of the housing. 
     
     
         39 . The mask of  claim 38 , wherein the upper part of the housing is removable. 
     
     
         40 . The mask of  claim 21 , wherein the shield comprises an upper portion disposed proximate the visor and a removable second portion disposed below the upper portion and distal from the visor. 
     
     
         41 . A protective face covering comprising:
 an adjustable headband;   a visor extending from the adjustable headband, the visor comprising an air handling unit housing and wherein the air handling unit housing comprises an outer housing exposed to an ambient environment when the protective face covering is worn on a head of a wearer and an inner housing exposed to an interior environment when the protective face covering is worn on the head of the wearer;   an air intake at least partially defined by the outer housing;   an air diffuser at least partially defined by the inner housing and communicatively coupled to the air intake;   an intake filter disposed in the air handling unit housing;   a fan disposed between and communicatively coupled to both of the air diffuser and the air intake, wherein the fan is configured to draw an airflow from the ambient environment and deliver the airflow to the interior environment, while passing the airflow through the intake filter;   a shield connected to the visor, the shield comprising a perimeter;   a seal disposed about at least a portion of the shield perimeter, the seal configured to contact and substantially conform to a face of the wearer; and   a relief filter disposed at least partially in the shield.   
     
     
         42 . The protective face covering of  claim 41 , wherein at least a portion of the outer housing is removable. 
     
     
         43 . The protective face covering of  claim 42 , further comprising a solar panel disposed on the removable portion of the outer housing. 
     
     
         44 . The protective face covering of  claim 43 , further comprising a battery disposed within the air handling unit housing and configured to provide power to the fan, wherein the solar panel is communicatively coupled to the battery. 
     
     
         45 . The protective face covering of  claim 44 , further comprising a charging port communicatively coupled to the battery, wherein the charging port is configured to receive an end of a charging cable. 
     
     
         46 . The protective face covering of  claim 41 , wherein the shield comprises an eye shield portion connected to the visor and a mouth shield portion removable connected to the eye shield portion, wherein the relief filter is disposed in the mouth shield portion. 
     
     
         47 . The protective face covering of  claim 41 , wherein the shield comprises a relief filter opening, a relief filter gasket disposed about the relief filter opening, and wherein the relief filter is removably connectable to the relief filter gasket. 
     
     
         48 . The protective face covering of  claim 47 , wherein the relief filter comprises a relief filter locking edge and wherein the shield comprises a shield locking edge, and wherein the relief filter locking edge is selectively engageable with the shield locking edge. 
     
     
         49 . The protective face covering of  claim 41 , wherein the fan comprises a fan pressure greater than losses associated with the air intake, the intake filter, the air diffuser, and the relief filter. 
     
     
         50 . The protective face covering of  claim 41 , wherein the shield comprises a curvature substantially similar to the face of the wearer. 
     
     
         51 . A method of providing filtered air to a person, the method comprising:
 isolating, with a mask, a face of the person from an exterior environment;   drawing air with a fan from the exterior environment;   filtering the air;   delivering the air with the fan to an isolated environment, wherein the isolated environment is defined by the mask and the face on the person; and   forcing the air with the fan from the isolated environment to the exterior environment.   
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , further comprising filtering the air prior to forcing the air from the isolated environment. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein isolating the face of the person comprises disposing a seal of the mask against the face of the person. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein isolating the face of the person further comprises securing at least a portion of the mask about a head of the person. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 53 , wherein the seal contacts a first cheek, a second cheek, a jaw line, and a chin of the person. 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 51 , further comprising treating the air prior to delivering the air to the isolated environment. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56 , wherein treating the air comprises at least one of heating, cooling, humidifying, and dehumidifying the air. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the mask defines a visor and a shield extending from the visor. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 51 , further comprising delivering at least one of solar power and battery power to the fan. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 51 , further comprising adjusting a fan speed based at least in part on at least one of a condition in the isolated environment and a condition in the exterior environment.